


Keep The One You Love Close

by EssieScrawls



Series: KTOYLC [1]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Enemies, Family Drama, M/M, Maffia, Minor Violence, Mpreg, Protective Arthur, Threats, Threats of Rape/Non-Con
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-18
Updated: 2015-10-18
Packaged: 2018-04-26 20:38:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,146
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5019616
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EssieScrawls/pseuds/EssieScrawls
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It was supposed to be just a simple trip to the supermarket and that's why Merlin, husband of mafia boss Arthur Pendragon, would never imagined that it would end up with him getting held against his will. </p><p>When Arthur learns what happened to his husband, he is furious and is determined to get his husband safely back into his arms again.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So yes, I've completely forgotten to re-upload this story since I've figured out that it hadn't been on AO3 anymore, it was deleted for some reason.
> 
> (mind you, I found this out in April 2014... what do you mean I'm a procrastinator?)

"You be careful, alright?" Arthur said as he held Merlin's face cradled in his hands and leaned in for a kiss. It earned them some wolf whistling from the men around them. Arthur did not pay attention, he was used at getting that kind of reaction from his men by now.

When he pulled back and looked at Merlin, he noticed how Merlin had this pink hue on his cheeks. Even after all this time Merlin wasn't used to always having people around them.

Merlin tried to move away, but Arthur was not willing to let him ever go, especially not after what happened last week when his dearest Merlin passed out in the middle of the living room and giving him the scare of his life, but it seems he had no choice now.

"I will, you know I will." Merlin replied, gripping Arthur's hands from where they still were on his face and moved them down. "And I have Oliver and James with me, I'm sure I'll be alright. It's just a quick trip to the shop and back, what could happen? You know how picky I am now the symptoms have started and I'm in serious need of some food right now." Merlin chuckled, but Arthur's face remained serious.

"I just don't want you to strain yourself too much and put yourself into danger." Arthur moved his hands to Merlin's midsection. "Or our child."

Merlin smiled, putting his hand over Arthur's. "I'm sure  _we_  will be fine. And if you're so worried, why don't you just come with me, instead of the thing you have to do." Merlin said, his smile dropping.

"We'll have to go now, sir." Gwaine said tapping Arthur's shoulder. Arthur turned to him and glowered deeply at which Gwaine backed off with his hands raised. Turning back to Merlin, Arthur placed his hand back on Merlin's cheek. "You know I would love to come with you the next time, but you also know I have this urgent matter to take care off."

For a moment, Merlin leaned into the touch with his eyes closed, but when Merlin opened those big blue eyes again, Arthur saw that there was a kind of sadness was harbouring within them.

Merlin knew what these urgent matters usually meant and it wouldn't be something good. "Please, do not kill another person. If not for me, do it for our baby."

"Merlin-" Arthur sighed, "I would do anything for you, but when you married me, you knew that this is what I do. This person defied  _me,_ thinking he could borrow money without paying it back. I cannot let this go without repercussions, what message would it send if I would let this go unnoticed? It's business, nothing more. Don't get yourself worked up about it."

Arthur guided Merlin towards the door with his arm slung behind the lither man's back when Merlin sighed at Arthur's answer. The door was being held open by one of his men and Arthur saw that the sleek black car was already waiting on the cobblestone driveway, with Oliver holding the car door open for Merlin.

Merlin got in and bend forward to get one last kiss from Arthur before he would go. As Arthur backed away, Oliver shut the door and Arthur eyed the brown haired man at the side of the car. "You better keep him safe or you wish you would've never been born." Arthur told Oliver with a dark and warning tone, the other man gulped deeply, nodding his head.

"Of course, sir."

"Good." Arthur replied curtly and saw two other black cars pull up the driveway. He watched the car that Merlin occupied drive off and as he watched he brought his hand to his back. Arthur pulled his gun from the holster on the waistband of his pants and pulled back the slide, hearing the click to confirm that the gun loaded.

"Men." He said with a jerk of his head, getting into the first car while five other men followed to get into the second car.

**~oOoOo~**

Merlin picked several items out of the food shelves and put them in the little basket that James held. Oliver was discreetly watching the store to see if there were any intruders that may want to cause Merlin harm. He seriously did not want to feel Arthur's wrath as even so much as one of Merlin's hairs got damaged while he was on duty.

"Uuh," Merlin looked around the shelves. "I'll combine this chocolate bar… with this barbecue sauce! Yum!"

While Merlin's face burst out in almost glee, the two men that were accompanying him were scrunching up their noses. They'd seen some freakishly food combinations in the past month and a half since Merlin's food cravings were unleashed, but this one was probably topping that list. They wouldn't comment on it though, because since Merlin's pregnancy he could be just as intimidating as Arthur.

"Oh and a 'Curly Wurly' of course. You know, for Arthur. He can't have enough of these things. How he's able to keep that body in shape is a mystery beyond my understanding!" Merlin prattled on to his friends - who were his bodyguards as well - as he made his way further down the aisle and closer to check out.

As the items were placed in a plastic bag and notes being passed over, Merlin said goodbye with a broad smile to the girl behind the register and walked into the cold fall weather, shivering as the cold air hit him after leaving the warmth of the store. He noticed the two men besides him eyeing him with caution but Merlin just drew his collar up higher and wrung his hands together, blowing some air in them to get them just a fraction warmer.

"We're almost at the car Merlin, then I'll turn up the heater for you."

"Thanks James, I will need it, my fingers are  _free_ -zing!" Merlin laughed and saw the orange lights of their car light up as James hit the button on the key to unlock it. Merlin quickly slid in the back of the car and clicked his seatbelt close in the holder. As soon as James put the key in the ignition, he turned on the promised heating  _and_  the seat warmers as a bonus, making Merlin relax into the seat with a satisfying feeling and he drew his phone out of his pocket.

**To: Arthur**  
**From: Merlin**  
_On our way back._

Merlin texted that to Arthur when James started to back out of their parking spot in the parking garage. He wasn't expecting an answer back seeing that his husband was currently engaged in  _something_  else and didn't had the time to respond to something meaningless as a message from him.

Merlin was busy putting his phone back into his pocket when he heard a car accelerating and seconds later his head collided with the car window, making his vision blurry for a few moments and his phone fall out of his hand and onto the floor. The car was pushed a few metres to the side by the impact and Merlin could hear the screeching tires. There was someone yelling something at him as well but he had no idea who or what.

Then the car came to a stop.

Putting his hand in front of his eyes and onto his brow, Merlin heard the two front doors open and still heard someone talking to him. Just a few words filtered through his hazy daze, before the doors were shut again.

" _Merlin… stay… car... hit… Cenred._ "

"Wha?" Merlin asked. His head felt as if he had drank far too much alcohol.

He was happy thought that his vision finally started to clear up a little bit and noises and voices were getting more coherent again. Merlin unclasped his seatbelt and at the same time was trying to find his phone, but he couldn't find it. When the passenger door opened and someone in a black suit appeared in his blurry vision, he jumped.

"Merlin, we need to move." Merlin recognized the man in front of him by his voice - it was Oliver.

Merlin could hear shooting close by and felt Oliver tugging on his arm. He almost stumbled out of the car but Oliver held him upright. Blinking heavily to get rid of his dizzying vision, Merlin tried to follow the order Oliver gave him.

"Merlin you need to keep moving." Oliver urged, glancing back to see that they were chased by three men. Oliver fired some shots, turning his body just the bare minimum as well as keeping Merlin upright and moving forward. Then Oliver suddenly stopped, with Merlin almost lurching forward if Oliver wasn't there to stop him. Merlin lifted his head to see how a big black SUV came towards them with increasing speed. Oliver's grip on Merlin's arm tightened as he flung himself on Merlin, effectively pushing him out of the way of the oncoming car. Merlin groaned loudly as his head came in contact with something solid for the second time this evening, increasing his now throbbing headache.

He felt the weight lifted off him and two pair of arms hooked under his shoulder, pulling him upright in one swift movement. It caused his head to feel as heavy as stone and his headache reaching another level of soreness. He stood unsteady on his two legs.

"Yeah that's him." Merlin heard an unfamiliar deep voice say. He wasn't able to move his head to look who the person was, but he didn't sound all too friendly.

From left as well as the right side of him he heard his two friends shouting words and calling his name, but he just didn't have it in him to look around him, let alone reply to them. He could hardly move a finger without a flair of pain searing through his head and making it throb even more than it already did.

There was now a blackness forming in front of his eyes and he enjoyed the feeling of the pain ebbing away that came with that darkness.

"Merlin, run! _"_  James said as he was pushed past Merlin and thrown on the ground next to Oliver. The message was vaguely heard by Merlin, but he felt far too good being in this oblivion that he didn't had the energy to acknowledge his friend. In fact, his legs weren't able to carry his body anymore and he started to sag, only to be caught and held upright by the two unfamiliar men that were already holding him.

"What to do with these two?" Another unfamiliar voice asked.

"Kill them." The same deep voice said.

And that was the last Merlin heard before the darkness fully consumed him.


	2. Chapter 2

Arthur walked back through the front door of his large mansion with the thought of spending a good time with Merlin. He would firstly pamper him with a foot and back massage and hopefully Merlin would spoil him afterwards with some hot steaming sex. Just the thought of it send Arthur's heart rate through the roof.

After walking five more steps into the hallway, he stopped and frowned. This was really unusual. There was no one in the hallway and his husband was nowhere in sight or to be heard.

Normally, Merlin would fly around his neck the minute he would step over the threshold but now it remained eerily quiet - not even so much as his husband's familiar footsteps could be heard. He knew Merlin would be back already, he had read the text a few minutes ago. The only explanation for this quietness was that Merlin was angry at him. Arthur knew how Merlin hated him for the work he did, and Arthur loved him for caring about it, but this was his life. He grew up within the mafia business with his father at the head of the whole organisation and when his father died it was only natural that  _he_  would be the one to continue to lead the organisation.

The only thing Arthur could do now, was to go to their bedroom as Merlin was most likely there, and do a buttload of apologizing to make up for it. But before he could even take another step forward, a door on his right opened and two of his most trusted men came rushing towards them.

"Leon, Lancelot." He said, acknowledging the two men.

"Sir, one of our cars has been ambushed." Leon blurted out. "Two are dead. The footage of the scene has been downloaded." Leon took a pause to assess Arthur's face, and it remained passive. It wasn't entirely unheard of that one of their people would be ambushed, there was enough rivalry in the city. Lancelot and Leon were more afraid in telling Arthur  _who_  was exactly in that car and prepared themselves for the worst.

"O-kaay?" Arthur answered absentmindedly, drawling out the word without giving it too much thought. He got more irritated by the two men that were stalling him with information that wasn't really interesting to him. They knew that he shouldn't be bothered about cases like this and knew that they could take care of it themselves.

"Sir." Leon tentatively started. "It was Merlin's car."

It was the one answer that Arthur wasn't prepared for and he gripped the lapels of Leon's jacket tightly and slammed him against the wall. "What. do. you. mean." Arthur gritted out through clenched teeth. "Where is he!" Arthur let Leon go and turned his head up. "Merlin! Merlin, this isn't funny!"

"Sir," Lancelot interrupted, swallowing deeply. "It was Cenred and his men."

"Show me." Arthur snarled, already making his way to the control room, slamming the doors of the room open and stomping in. "Show me!" He yelled and the men in the room turned to their screens, typing fast on their keyboards.

There was a video pulled up onto the big screen and Arthur leaned his arms on a nearby desk, breathing heavily through his nose. Arthur saw how two of his men were shot straight in the heart; no chance on survival. Then he saw how his husband-his love-was being held in the grips of two soon dead men.

But the third figure in the video was the one that made Arthur's blood boil with anger, it was Cenred Escetir. Ganglord and archenemy of the Pendragons.

The Escetirs had control over the Eastern part of the city and were always pushing the limits. Arthur had lost track of how many times they've tried to overthrow the Pendragons and those tries were practically forgotten, but now,  _now_ , they've gone too far. They had taken his husband  _and_  his child from him, and boundaries were going to be overstepped.

"Find that piece of shit and if you have, report back to me immediately." Arthur growled, walking away and slamming the door close. There was complete mayhem in the Pendragon mansion after that. Chairs went flying across the room and vases crashed against the wall, and all that was caused by a complete distressed Arthur.

**~oOoOo~**

"Wake u-up." A deep singing voice whispered in his ear.

Merlin groaned at the sudden noise and felt wetness drip down his face. He was unable to bring his hands up feel where this wetness was sliding down from, and he just couldn't figure out what it was that kept him from moving. Cracking his eyes slowly open, but had to immediately close them because of the immense bright light that was shining in his eyes.

His hair was gripped tightly and tipped back and something was pressed against his jugular. Merlin gasped at the feeling and his eyes flew open. This time it wasn't a bright light that he was staring into, but a pair of big brown eyes. He caught something else from the corner of his eye when the man let go of his hair and his head fell forward; it was a gun.

Merlin never liked guns and made Arthur take off his own gun when he'd be home. He knew though that Arthur kept a gun in their bedroom, even when Arthur thinks he isn't aware of that. The only reason he hadn't said anything about it was because he knew that Arthur felt better, more at ease, with a gun at his disposal. Merlin had to admit that he secretly liked that feeling of safety as well, how much it simultaneously may creep him out.

Right this second he wished that his husband was here with said gun to protect him and his child.

"Mmm, you sure are a treat for the eye. No wonder Arthur married you." The man said, brushing a finger along Merlin's jawline. Merlin jerked away from the touch as best as he could, but he only now found out that he was bound by his arms and legs to a chair. He was feeling more vulnerable now, and withdrew to the next best thing. Talking back.

" _Don't_  touch me! Who the hell are you and what do you want."

The man chuckled, making his acquaintances that filled the room laugh with him. "Oh my. Beauty and fierceness. You must be a jackpot. But you're right, where are my manners. I'm Cenred Escetir." The man-Cenred- gave a mock bow.

"And that's supposed to mean something to me? And get that fucking thing out of my face."

Cenred bent over and tapped the loop of the gun against Merlin's chest. "You sure are a  _de_ -light! I like you already." Standing up he crossed his arms, the gun still clearly visible. "Your husband and I… we share a very profound history." Cenred drawled on. "But the question here is not who I am, but how valuable you are to me. You see I found out about a little secret." He beckoned one of the men in the room forward with a jerk of his head. The man stepped forward, carrying some photographs.

Cenred crouched down in front of the chair, showing Merlin the photographs. "You see, Merlin, there was something very weird about you and your husband's activity lately. Six visits to the hospital in just four months, now either you have some kind of serious disease  _or…_ " He paused, pointing at the picture that showed Merlin and Arthur walking out of the hospital with big smiles on their faces. Merlin figured that it must've been taken after the last hospital visit when they went in for a sonogram. "...there is an happy occasion waiting to happen, if the smiles on both your faces should give us any indication. My guess is that there is a Pendragon heir on the way." He stood up and walked to the window, baring his teeth in a crooked smile.

"You won't hurt her!" Merlin yelled, moving harshly against his restrictions and shaking in anger. "I'll  _kill_  you myself."

Cenred spun round and walked back to the chair, creeping into Merlin's personal space. "Her?" He asked, raising one eyebrow.

Merlin stilled, it was out of his mouth before he had thought of the consequences. Arthur didn't even know the gender of their baby because he had told Merlin that he wanted it to be a surprise, but Merlin couldn't wait that long and so when Arthur was in the hallway making some calls, he had asked his doctor about it, who then had confirmed that it would be a girl.

"Well, well, well. This changes the whole plan." Cenred turned to a few men standing by the window. "Take our  _guest_  to the room upstairs… and make sure he stays there." He added with a darker tone. Cenred then immediately walked out the room and as soon as the doors clicked close, three men walked towards Merlin. One undid the bindings, but two others started to gag and blindfold him.

**~oOoOo~**

_Merlin made me a totally wimp_. That was what Arthur thought when he had retreated back into his room, holding and smelling one of Merlin's shirts.

That pasty, too thin, black haired guy had so much influence on him that his father would totally disapprove of it if he would still be alive. But he didn't care, he loved Merlin and he had started to grown love for the child in his husband's abdomen the moment Merlin showed the first positive pregnancy test.

His whole life he didn't think about getting into a relation, let alone becoming a father. But then,  _then_ , Merlin had to come along and made his stone cold heart crumble and in its place came a heart full of love.

He met Merlin during a standard dental appointment, and the cute dental assistant trainee immediately caught Arthur's eye. Sure, he wet Arthur when he didn't had complete control of the water jet, causing Arthur shirt to be soaked through from the waist up.

Merlin had looked horrified, and normally Arthur would kill someone for less than what Merlin had done, but for some reason Arthur didn't had it in him to be angry at Merlin. No, instead he asked him to go on a date for him, surprising himself, Merlin,  _and_ his men.

That momentous date was now over two years ago.

Skip forward eight months, and the couple were married. Arthur had been anxious to pop the question, but he had hope that Merlin would say yes. After all, he had stayed with him after he had told Merlin what his occupation was… even though Merlin had been shocked at first and had cut off contact with Arthur for nearly a month.

After Merlin moved in after they were married, Arthur had noticed that small changes were happening in his home. There were suddenly flowers on the tables, there was a warmer colour on the wall, and the sleek white leather couches were traded in for some comfortable soft upholstered sofas topped off with big cushions.

His whole house felt like a home for the first time in all the years he had been living in it. His home had this general feeling of love and commitment, and he felt it every time he entered his house. And all that was Merlin's doing.

And now his love was taken away by Cenred Escetir.

The family vendetta between the Pendragons and Escetirs was already in progress before Arthur was even born and went back generations. About  _what_  exactly they were indifference of, only god knew. Arthur just knew that from a young age, his father told him that the Escetir family was untrustworthy and not to be cooperated with, so Arthur had been feeling that Cenred was his archenemy from day one.

Arthur now sneaked a side-glance to the cradle that was already assembled and ready for use, even if it still took at least four or five more months until the little one would make its appearance. Arthur wanted to give the child a room of its own, but Merlin insisted that he or she would sleep in their room for the first weeks, so he could protect the baby and keep him or her safe. Of course Arthur agreed, he agreed with every decision Merlin made. Except for the ones that involved life and death decision of people, although more and more Arthur would listen to Merlin's arguments. Even though he would deny completely that Merlin had influence in these decisions.

Taking in a deep breath of air he straightened himself and schooled his features, despite the fact that his men already knowing how much Arthur cared about Merlin. Heck, even the men cared a great deal for Merlin, he had entirely wormed his way into their hearts.

He entered the headquarters where his men were furiously typing away on their keyboards and Arthur heard how shouting back and forth was in progress. That was until they noticed it was Arthur that stepped inside and everything went dead silent within seconds.

Leon was brave enough to step forward and presented him a sheet with some information. It wasn't much as they had no idea where Cenred's headquarters were located, it was like seeking a needle in a haystac. They only knew it had to be somewhere on the East coast.

"The licence plate on the SUV we saw in the video was a fake, a diversion; it didn't lead to anywhere.  _But_  Oliver had activated the tracker in his jacket before he was being killed, and it led us to this house when they were transported. There is a big chance that is where Merlin is being kept." Leon paused, trying to sense Arthur's mood. When he only saw his boss look in deep concentration, he continued. "We tried tracking Merlin's phone but he must have lost it in the car when they were hit, as it leads us to the parking garage at the supermarket." Leon looked over his shoulder to Lancelot's computer screen, before turning his head back. "We're close at hacking the camera in the area the house is located, but the code to it is well secured. Either way, I think it's worth a shot to check the area out."

There was a dark emotion flickering through Arthur's eyes at hearing those last few words. "Worth a shot?  _Worth. a. shot!_  This is my husband  _and_ child we're talking about." He flung the sheet of paper back in Leon's arms. "You make sure you're hundred per cent certain about your case and then, and only then, report back to me."

"Of-of course." Leon made a beeline to one of the computers where Lancelot was typing away, while Arthur stomped away to the living room and poured himself a whiskey from the crystal decanter. He swirled the content of the glass round but instead of taking a swig of it he threw the glass in the burning fireplace. The glass shattered and it was making the fire whoosh in aggravation and flames growing in tenfold.

Arthur sat heavily down on the soft sofa with his hands tangled into his hair. He wouldn't cry, he would not! Arthur needed to be strong, couldn't let Cenred get into his head like this.

"S-sir." A small voice from the other side of the room made him look up and he saw one of his new recruitments standing in the doorframe.

"What." Arthur snapped.

"Lancelot has cracked the code to the surveillance camera. They want you to see the foo - tage." The younger man finished to no one as Arthur had already stormed past him once he told that the code was cracked.

"Show me." Arthur bellowed once he had thrown the double doors of the quarters open and walked to where Leon and Lancelot were seated. Lancelot pressed play and Arthur watched with his arms crossed over his chest.

He saw the same SUV as on the other video stopping at one of the villas in the Eastern side of the city and the four doors of the car opened with Cenred getting out and pointed his hand to the boot of the car. Two men went to the boot and pulled something out of it.

"Zoom in." Arthur said, squinting his eyes to get a better look at the screen. It had starting to become dark and it affected the recording quality.

Once Lancelot zoomed in, there was no doubt about it and Arthur immediately knew that it was his husband that was being pulled out of the boot by the two men.

Arthur's nails dug inside his own flesh and his breathing started to become more harsh. His eyes spew fire and his mouth thinned into a small line. "I'm going to kill him." Arthur gritted through his teeth. He looked around making sure every one of his men looked at him. "Pack up and prepare. We leave in five minutes."

**~oOoOo~**

When the men had brought him into a room, they had put a cuff around Merlin's ankle before removing the gag and blindfold and someone else put a bandage around his head where he was bleeding from the impact of the car window. They left the room quite quickly after that, never having said a word.

Merlin looked with disgust towards the chain that was attached to the wall that lead to a cuff around his ankle and pulled the chain again, trying to break it from the cuff so he would at least be able to get out of this room and back to his husband.

He shook and tugged at the chain but it wouldn't budge in its hold and Merlin sagged down on the ground with his back against the side of the bed and tears began to stream down his cheeks. His eyes looked down to his stomach, and it was the only thing that made him stop crying. He wanted to be strong for his child and put his trust in Arthur that he would get them out of here. "Your daddy is going to come soon. I know he is." Merlin whispered against his stomach. "And when he has taken us home, I don't think we will be ever let alone after this. Well I know for sure he won't." Merlin chuckled, smiling down at his stomach.

That feeling lasted only a few seconds because when he heard a key turn into the lock, his smile dropped and he started to scramble up to his feet, using the bed as his support. Not sooner than he stood, Cenred entered and honestly, he hated that man since the first time he had lain eyes on him.

Cenred was carrying a tray with water and a sandwich and put it down on the desk next to the bed. The chain would be long enough to get to there, but it wasn't long enough to actually exit the room.

"You should be resting." Cenred said, turning to Merlin. Cenred's tone was almost considered caring, but Merlin could hardly believe the words. "Stressing isn't good for the baby."

"And why do you think I'm stressing! Keeping me locked up like some dog and against my will isn't exactly easing my mind!"

Cenred chose to ignore what Merlin said and sat down on the bed instead, patting the space next to him. Merlin backed away grabbing one of the posters to keep him upright, the blow to his head was still causing him problems. "Don't think I'll come even close to you."

A smirk appeared on Cenred's face. "Well that's your choice, Merlin." Cenred stood up and rounded the bed, but remained standing opposite of Merlin. "You have no idea how hard it was to get you away from  _Pendragon_." The name was spoken with such an amount of venom and disgust that Merlin had never even heard Arthur spoke with before. And that was saying something, as he had seen his husband angry at certain people.

Cenred continued. "He was glued at your side like a piece of gum sticking on the bottom of a shoe. Never leaving you out of his sight and always having those pathetic bodyguards around. But tonight was different. Tonight he wasn't with you, and those two supposedly bodyguards were easy to get rid of. We  _finally_ had free reign in taking you."

"They were good men!" Merlin yelled, grasping the poster for some more support as his world was suddenly starting to spin. The wound on his head really must've caused more than just a simple headache, but he would have to be killed first if he would ever come and sit next to the man who disrupted his life.

Cenred chuckled, muttering. "Well obviously not good enough." He cleared his throat and took a few steps towards Merlin, who still tried to get as much space as possible between them.

Merlin held up a weak hand. His vision blurring more with each movement. "Sta-stay ba-ack." He breathed out, clenching his eyes tightly shut, trying to fight the way his body wanted to shut down. He wouldn't want to pass out, not now, not again. Not in the presence of this man.

"I told you that you should sit down. I don't like to be challenged, Merlin." Cenred reached one hand out and Merlin opened his eyes when he felt that Cenred touched him. Even this small movement proved to be too much and his eyes rolled up in his head and he started falling sideways into Cenred's arms.

Cenred caught him, swaying a little bit backwards by the sudden weight falling onto him before picking Merlin up under his arms and knees and laying him gently down on the bed. He started to card his hand through Merlin's hair and with the other hand he started to feel Merlin's baby bump.


	3. Chapter 3

Merlin woke up and felt a warm body behind him one hand slung across his stomach and the other hand being run through his hair. His first and only explanation was that it was Arthur, and he relaxed into the warmth. Seconds later his eyes flew open when he started to realise what had happened the last hours and he tried to get away from the embrace, but he was being held back.

"Good, you're awake." Cenred said casually. "It was about time, it nearly took you an hour."

Merlin still put up a struggle against Cenred. He couldn't believe that he was out for that long, how long had it been since he was taken? Surely Arthur must've noticed that something was wrong, but why wasn't he here then to save him? Tears started to well up in Merlin's eyes. "Just tell me what it is what you want." Merlin said, feeling defeated. He turned his head slightly back to look at Cenred, and saw the man's eyes glistening with  _something_. Pride, victory? Merlin wasn't sure.

"I wanted to kill you and by doing that killing your child, Pendragon's heir." Cenred explained, "But then you told me something interesting, you said the sex of the baby."

Merlin finally jerked free out of the hold as he felt Cenred's grip slipping. He jumped off the bed and went as far away from Cenred as he possibly could with his one leg chained, but Cenred just calmly stepped off the bed and walked towards him, simultaneously finishing his story.

"You see, I'm sure you are aware by now that we Escetirs don't like the Pendragons, but there's one thing we  _do_  like about the Pendragons and that is the Pendragon women. They are far more passionate and far fiercer than the men, I mean just look at your pathetic husband, he's a total joke for whole mankind." Cenred stopped at the end of the bed, leaning with his shoulder against the poster.

"Well anyways, I'm sure you're aware of his half-sister, Morgana. Not only is Morgana Arthur's half-sister, she's my wife's half-sister as well. And I'm sure it has not passed your attention that Morgana is a beautiful and fierce person - just like yourself, might I add. She has convinced me many times that she's on my side." Cenred smirk started to appear again. "Now if your child would be a boy he'd be not interesting to me, but a girl - a girl is far more convenient in this business. They'll appear innocent, they are sexy and most importantly; they get jobs done far more discreetly than men."

Merlin started to growl with every new sentence and narrowed his eyes. He only knew vaguely about Morgana, knowing that she left the house when she was only sixteen because she was fed up with Uther.

Cenred only laughed at all his actions and stood up straight, starting to walk towards Merlin again and closing the space between them. Merlin backed away, but soon found himself backed up in the corner with Cenred towering over him. One of Cenred's hands was put onto the wall, close to Merlin's head. "I've made an exception for a Pendragon family member before, I can make it again. I want your child."

"Never." Merlin answered, cradling his stomach.

"You will, even if I have to force you. With your child at my side I will not only have more power, but I will have power over Pendragon as well. He will bow to my will and I  _will_  control this city on my own at last." He grabbed Merlin's chin and forced him to look at him. Their lips just inches apart. "And  _you_ , you will do just fine as my sex slave."

Merlin's eyes grew wider and his breath caught in the back of his throat. He was feeling paralyzed, not able to move.

A distant noise that sounded much like a crash could be heard and both his as Cenred's eyes flickered to the door. Merlin wanted to yell but Cenred slapped an hand over it and then reached his other hand around his back, only to pull out the gun he used earlier when Merlin was tied up. Cenred smirked, removing the safety and pulling back the hammer of it. The click was loud in the now quiet room and Cenred looked into Merlin's eyes. "I think we got company."

Merlin's heart pounded heavily against his ribcage and nearly jumped out of it when two heavily armed men entered the room after a swift knock. The two men saw their boss and his  _guest_  in the corner of the room in a somewhat intimate position. "Sir. Pendragon and his men have entered the premises."

"Good. Why don't you give him a warm welcome?" Cenred smirked, dismissing the men with a jerk of his head.

Merlin's breath caught in the back of his throat the moment Cenred turned his head back and looked at him with a dark look in his eyes, he didn't know what Cenred would do to him now Arthur was here. Merlin's heart fluttered for a moment about the fact that his husband was here to save him, but at the same time it felt heavy with worry on how things could go. Gulping, he brought his hands up to Cenred's chest and tried to push him away. Unfortunally the man in front of him had the upper hand and moved closer.

Cenred whispered close to Merlin's ear, "I'm wondering- what will your husband's reaction be when he finds you in bed with another man?"

Merlin shook his head vehemently, trying once more to push the bigger man away. But like a curse, black dots were starting to invade his vision again with that movement. He couldn't believe how fragile he was at this moment, and all he wanted was to keep strong no matter what.

He was viciously dragged forward by Cenred and thrown onto his back on the bed. The chain rattling angrily with all the sudden movements.

Merlin groaned when Cenred threw him on the bed, his head started to throb heavily. He rolled to the side, hoping that that would relieve the throb, but Cenred pulled him right onto his back again, straddling Merlin on his legs and leaning down to capture Merlin's lips. Merlin tried to resist the kiss as best as he could, but he didn't stand a chance against the other man and his losing fight against the black spots.

There were gunshots fired somewhere downstairs and Merlin just hoped that Arthur would get to him soon.

Cenred pulled back, the same smug smirk back in place.

"P-please," Merlin pleaded. His attention was then brought to his stomach when he felt a small twitch, which seemed to grow stronger by the second. Something wasn't right, and Merlin knew it.

There were still shots being fired in the mansion and they appeared to be closer to the bedroom now, but Cenred didn't seemed to be fazed by them. He only had eye for Merlin and pinned Merlin's hands above his hands, feeling victorious in having the husband of his enemy in his possession. He saw Merlin's eyes starting to water and it only increased that feeling.

Merlin's stomach was now feeling like it was cramping and he panicked, he didn't know what was happening to him - to the baby. He panted, breathing in chocking sobs and wanting to bring his hands down to cradle his stomach, but Cenred still had a firm grip around them and was now starting to wrap his belt around his wrists.

"P-please, stop. S-something's w-wrong." Merlin whispered. "Oh, god."

Cenred bent down, nipping at the skin of Merlin's neck. He enjoyed those distressed sounds his captive made. "Mmm, yes the fact that you're still dressed is wrong." He murmured against the pale skin, bringing his hands beneath Merlin's shirt.

Merlin grunted, the pain had flared up with Cenred's touch. "N-no. S-stop!"

Merlin could feel the heavy cramp in his stomach building up to a level he had never experienced before, and the pain that came with it was almost unbearable. He cried, he knew now that there had to be something wrong with the baby. He couldn't lose her!

Breathing the choked sobs in and out was becoming to be a restricting factor and he willed himself to calm down, but there was just so much going on at once that it was a hopeless case. A gun being fired just outside the door made him jump out of his own misery for a moment and his half lidded eyes moved to the door. Cenred stilled as well and watched how the door burst open and the one he hated the most stood in the door frame; Arthur.

Anger was spewing from Arthur's eyes when he saw Cenred on top of his husband and he aimed his gun at Cenred's head, ready to fire. Gwaine and Leon appeared behind him, their firearms drawn and loaded.

Cenred knew that they were closing in on him and he pulled Merlin up from the bed, holding him in front of him as a human shield.

Merlin's half lidded eyed found Arthur's in an instant and he groaned loudly, bringing his bound hands towards his stomach, clutching it as best as he could. The pain was even more severe standing up and the blackness in front of his eyes had almost consumed him wholly.

"Give it up Cenred, all your men are dead." Arthur's voice broke through and Merlin wanted to concentrate with all his might on it, but it was impossible to focus with the soaring pain going through his stomach.

"That won't mean I give up so easily." Cenred snarled and he brought the hand with his gun to Merlin's stomach. "I could kill one," Cenred then brought the gun up to Merlin's head, "or I can kill them both. Your choice Pendragon."

Arthur strained his arm, supporting it with his other hand. His nostrils flaring. Gwaine and Leon fanned out and took each a side of Arthur, slowly creeping forward. It only made Cenred tighten his hold on the now barely conscious Merlin.

What Cenred didn't realise was that Merlin's head fell a little more sideways and it gave Arthur the perfect aim to shoot.

Cenred shook his head, eyeing the three men around him. "Ah, ah, a-ah." He tutted, "I wouldn't do tha–"

A shot - and then silence.

Merlin felt himself falling, not conscious enough to catch himself. He was preparing for the hard fall on the floor, but it never came. He was caught by strong arms and his husband's familiar scent immediately filled his nose. He felt save now.

More men of the Pendragon organisation gathered into the room and watched how Gwaine and Leon were dragging the Ganglord of the Eastern side of the city away by his arms; a gush of blood continued to stream out of the head wound, leaving a trail behind. Their eyes settled on their boss holding his husband in his arms, untying the belt from Merlin's wrists and tossing it to the side with a snarl. He started feeling for a pulse in Merlin's neck.

"No, you are  _not_  going to close your eyes. Merlin, open your eyes!" He shook him forcefully after only feeling a faint pulse. "Merlin! open. your. eyes!" He turned, holding his tears at bay. He would not be found crying in front of his men. "Get a car!"

Men scrambled over each other to carry out the task that has been given. Only Lancelot stayed behind and started to unlock the cuff on Merlin's ankle. He had snatched the key off Cenred's body before it was dragged away to a place where he would never be found again.

Just being alone with Lancelot, made Arthur lose his stern expression and he broke out in tears. He checked for a pulse again, and it was still there but Arthur became worried on how faint it was. Shaking his husband again and calling his name loudly made Merlin open his eyes halfway, groaning by the pain it gave him.

Arthur sighed in relief for both his husband's consciousness as well as hearing one of his men yell that the car was in front. Arthur quickly picked his husband up. "Merlin stay with me, you're going to be fine. Just stay awake." Arthur all but ran through the corridor, descended the stairs and rushed out the door towards the waiting car. As soon as they were inside the driver took off.

"We're almost at the hospital. Take deep breaths." Arthur instructed.

Merlin shook his head, gasping for air and a frown appearing. "Hurts." He grunted, clenching his jaws tightly onto each other.

Arthur brushed a stray of hair aside from Merlin's face. "Hold on, just two more minutes." Arthur felt Merlin's hand brush against his shirt a few times before he finally got a good grip on the fabric. He drew Arthur closer.

"Keep her safe." Was all he whispered before his eyes turned back into his head and the tight grip in Arthur's shirt loosened.

**~oOoOo~**

Merlin slowly became more conscious, but had nowhere enough energy to open his eyes, all he heard were two voices, and one of them was his husband's.

_"- with the help of steroids we've managed to stop the labour for now."_

_"Oh thank god. So he and the baby will be fine?"_

_"So far they are fine, yes. But we just want to keep your husband here for a day, where we will keep checking both his as the baby's vitals every two hours. If everything's okay, he can go home in the morning."_

_"Thank you doctor."_

Merlin then heard shuffling of feet, a door opening and closing and the legs of presumably a chair scraping on the floor. Merlin was just too tired to concentrate on it for any longer and let himself slip into oblivion again.

When Merlin woke for a second time a few hours later, he felt a hand touch his face and another hand was running through his hair. He heard his husband's voice softly murmuring small pleadings to him, begging him to wake up. His husband sounded like a broken shell of his former self and he felt Arthur place his head on his chest.

He put all his energy into opening his eyes, he just had to let his husband know that he was awake and okay. He just wanted to comfort his husband.

The first thing he noticed were his husband's blonde hair and with stuttering motions he brought his hand up to touch it, causing Arthur to immediately snap his head up and he stared into Merlin's blue eyes. "Oh thank god." He whispered, bending down to place multiple kisses on Merlin's lips.

"T-the baby." Merlin croaked out, raising himself from the pillow.

"She's fine." Arthur said with a smile on his face.

Back in the car, he was baffled when Merlin referred to their baby as being a girl. For a moment he thought that Merlin just used a random gender, but in the hospital it was confirmed that it would be indeed a girl.

Merlin seemed to relaxed a little bit after Arthur's reassurance and sank back into the pillow. "She is?"

Arthur bent forward, his hand softly caressing the small bump. "Yes. And you're going to be fine too, if you'll stay calm and keep resting." Arthur casted his eyes down, and his voice was just about a whisper, "While you were unconscious, you were quite stressed and giving the doctors some worries."

Merlin frowned. "I did?"

"Yes. Your blood pressure wouldn't go down and they were worried that you'd be slipping into a coma." His voice cracked and Arthur tried to cover it up, but Merlin heard it clearly. He extended his arm out from under the warmth of the blankets and placed it on Arthur's cheek.

"I'm fine now, and nothing will happen to us."


End file.
